Lullaby
by Kimmi-chan92
Summary: In the aftermath of Orochimaru's attack in The Forest of Death, Sakura tries to soothe Sasuke's suffering any way that she can. Genin!SasuSaku. SasuSaku Month, Day 29: Lullaby.


**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Chugoku Region Lullaby.**

**Lullaby**

Sakura sat back and wiped a shaking hand across her brow. Lying before her were her two unconscious teammates: Naruto, unnaturally quiet and still, and Sasuke, feverish and trembling. As she watched their faces, tears rose to her eyes once more. She had done all she could for them, but until they awoke, there was no telling just how much damage that monster, Orochimaru, had inflicted.

_'__If they wake up'_, whispered a voice in the back of her mind.

She shook her head firmly. She must not think that way. The Forest of Death would not claim them as victims so long as she drew breath. She stood and glanced around their shelter, taking stock of their supplies, familiarizing herself with all of the exits, and reviewing the traps she had laid as their first line of defense. Anything to keep her from slipping into the dark abyss of terror and desperation that threatened to swallow her whole.

A list. She should make a list. They always gave her a sense of purpose and direction. Made her feel more useful. As she turned to retrieve a scroll from her pack, a small noise drew her attention back to the boys behind her.

Sasuke was whimpering in his sleep. His brow was furrowed in pain and his trembling hands had clenched into fists. Sakura abandoned her pack and moved quickly back to his side, hands hovering uncertainly over him. Before she could decide how best to help him, his head began to thrash back and forth, causing the damp compress she had placed there to slide off onto the forest floor.

"Shhhh. It's alright, Sasuke-kun. It's alright," she attempted to soothe him, laying a clammy hand on his face. He was burning up. The shaking was becoming more violent, almost as if he were having convulsions. Panic gripped Sakura's throat once more. If his condition continued to worsen…

_'__What should I do? What should I do?! I-I'm scared! I'm so scared!'_

All at once, Sakura was struck with a memory. Years ago, just after she had entered the academy, Ino had told her a story about an evil yokai who liked to bewitch and devour cute little girls who got separated from their parents or friends. A few days later, Sakura had attended a fall festival with her parents and gotten lost in the shuffle of people. She was only on her own for a few minutes, but by the time her mother had found her, Sakura was curled up under a park bench, sobbing and quivering in terror. In the twilit outskirts of the ongoing festival, she was convinced that the yokai was coming to snatch her up and eat her. Her parents took her home and were finally able to console her with warm tea and her favorite stuffed animal; however, she was still much too frightened to fall asleep. It was not until her mother began to sing a soft, lilting lullaby that her racing heart began to slow and her eyelids grew heavy with sleep.

Here in The Forest of Death, Sakura felt just as lost as she had that night. And this time, the demon was real. But as she looked down into Sasuke's anguished face, the memory of her mother's song curled around her heart, easing her despair and calming her mind. She cradled Sasuke's head and gently placed it in her lap. After making sure he was propped up comfortably, she began to card her fingers through his sweat dampened hair. Then, in a voice barely above a whisper, she began to sing.

"Hush-a-bye, sleep.  
How sweet is the face of the child fallen asleep,  
The child who is awake and cries,  
How unhappy his face looks.  
Hush-a-bye. Hush-a-bye."

Sasuke strained against the light hold she had on his head, eyes rolling rapidly beneath his closed lids. Sakura brushed aside a strand of hair that had fallen into his face and continued her song.

"Hush-a-bye, sleep.  
Today is a celebration of the day of his birth.  
Tomorrow we will go,  
To the shrine,  
Hush-a-bye. Hush-a-bye."

To her great relief, Sasuke's breathing began to slow and his thrashing lessened. She reached over to retrieve the discarded compress, careful not to jostle the boy in her arms. She poured more cool water onto the cloth and settled it back onto Sasuke's forehead. When she was sure he would not throw it off again, she resumed her gentle ministrations.

"Arriving at the shrine,  
what will you pray for?  
Throughout his life-"

Sakura broke off, suddenly overcome with emotion. The tears which had threatened to fall earlier began to drip down her face and disappear into Sasuke's already damp hair. Taking a shuddering breath and swallowing down the overwhelming wave of grief that had swept over her, Sakura picked back up where she left off and haltingly completed the verse.

"Throughout his life,  
May this child be healthy and happy.  
Hush-a-bye. Hush-a-bye."

As she came to the end of her song, she leaned down to press a tender kiss to Sasuke's hairline. Though he was still quite feverish, he had finally stopped trembling and he was no longer grimacing in pain. Sakura allowed her forehead to rest against his as the thick silence of the forest settled over them once again. She would do anything, _anything_, to take his suffering onto herself. Naruto's as well, for that matter. She looked over to check on her other teammate, relieved to find his chest was still steadily moving up and down as he breathed.

Sakura allowed herself to relish in the stillness for a few moments, but was soon interrupted as Sasuke began to stir restlessly once again. Her face still wet from her tears, she wrapped her arms around him and held him close. Taking another deep breath, she started her mother's lullaby again from the beginning.

And so, as the dying rays of the sun gave way to a grey twilight, a lost young girl sang a broken song over the broken boy that she loved with her whole heart, hoping that it would be enough to get them through the night.

~0~0~0~0~0~

**A/N: So I was not expecting to participate in SasuSaku Month because I have another story I'm supposed to be working on, but my inspiration for it has been dried up recently. I just happened to see the prompt for today, Lullaby, and was virtually smacked across the face with this story idea, so I sat down and pumped out this one-shot. The song Sakura sings is a Japanese lullaby called Chugoku Chiho no Komoriuta or Chugoku Region Lullaby, which you can look up and listen to if you would like. I found two separate translations for the lyrics and merged them a bit to make them sound more natural. The formatting is a little rough, and I might go back and fix it later, but for now please enjoy my submission for SasuSaku Month, Day 29.**


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